New Delhi: The central government of India reportedly told the Supreme Court of India on Monday (April 24) that it wants an Aadhaar-like unique identification system for cows to track their movement and prevent inter-state and inter-country smuggling.

Adducing a report by a committee appointed by the Central Home Ministry, Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar told a bench led by Chief Justice of India J S Khehar that the Centre has approved the recommendations in principle. The bench posted the matter for detailed hearing on Tuesday.

Image used for representational purpose only

The committee, headed by a Joint Secretary in the MHA, was constituted after the Supreme Court of India prodded the government to stop smuggling of cattle, especially through the porous borders with Nepal and Bangladesh.

It points out that the Ministry of Agriculture has devised a tamper-proof method for identification of cattle, using polyurethane tags with a unique identification number sequence.

“This may be made mandatory for all cows and its progeny throughout India for all cattle that is owned. Already, mass tagging of cattle for insurance purpose is being done by Livestock Development Boards and Animal Husbandry Department of state governments,” it says.